Blood
by Athena's Owl
Summary: Blood. There was so much blood. Read the AN!
1. Blood

**A/N: READ THIS NOTE! If you are not inclined towards blood or tragedy do NOT read this! I was thinking about putting under M but changed my mind. Please inform me if you think otherwise. Last time this story involves character death. And they don't come back.**

**Now if you like to ignore the ramblings of author's notes you can ignore this. I know I said I wouldn't post until my other story was finished but I just had this idea and it wouldn't leave me alone! It is my longest work though. And hopefully one of my better ones. Don't be afraid to drop a tearful review!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own! **_**My precious.**_

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Blood. There was so much blood. How could one human body hold that much _blood_? But no. It wasn't one human body. It was three. Three quantities of carmine blood. And all that blood was pooling, growing, becoming more around him. His own blood was mingling and flowing with the rest. It was soaking the knees of his pants and the fabric of his shirt. His shirt? When had he ended up on the ground? He didn't remember falling as the others had done, or laying down and giving up.

The others. Oh god the others. All of them. His whole team gone in a matter of minutes? But he was left. He was left laughing coldly at a joke that consisted of death and a shimmering liquid that oozed from fatal wounds. He was left staring into three sets of sightless eyes. Eyes that bored into him and even without seeing conveyed a message of blame. And the blame fell on him. Who else was it left to fall onto? Who would it fall onto when he joined the motionless bodies on the floor?

He stared at the substance surrounding him. Watched it as it reflected what little light there was. He watched it as it faded. As it faded from a deep scarlet to a rainbow of colors. Swirling colors became stationary, and then became images. And then images were replaced by memories.

* * *

_They stepped through the gate laughing and joking, ready to check up on the allies whom they had been working with for at least two months now. Well they were mostly laughing; A certain someone was sulking on being brought along because he had more important things to do. He didn't actually mind though. It was obvious from the way he was taking interest in his surroundings and not staring at a data pad as was his wont when he was really in a bad mood._

_The world of Anozira, as it was called by the people, was generally a peaceful world. It was known for its landscape, its winged wildlife, and its general artistic nature. There were rolling green hills, and towering mountains, and yellow plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. The birds were many and varied. Cardinal like birds with a nightingale's song, monster crows, flying penguins, miniature ostriches, and a particularly frequent flyer called a Quetzy. It was a bird that looked as if it could be a bird of paradise but had horns and emitted a noise quite unlike a bird of paradise. _

_They walked for the 30 minutes it took to get to the village. It involved a winding road up a hill (probably the real reason for earlier said person's attempted sulking) as there was nowhere to land a jumper near the village. It was proposed, due to the progression of the trading agreement and alliance, to knock down a farm that hadn't been having any luck in crops the past season. It would make it considerably easier to land a jumper and bring in more supplies. Also as Tiana, an elder woman, had pointed out it may put an end to 'That doctor's of yours ceaseless complaining'._

_As they neared the village he got an uneasy feeling that something wasn't right. There were no yelling and playing children, no adults painting and sculpting down the roads, attempting to capture the essence of the landscape, no screeching Quetzies and no cry's of welcome from anyone in general. _

_A single 'cardinal' flew by calling out its sad lamentations. His vision was engulfed by the red of its wings._

* * *

The images that had been dancing across his mind faded back into the blood. How long had he been out of it? There was so much more blood! How could it have grown that much more? Was he really losing his mind? Was he going to cease all functions and become the fourth lifeless corpse upon the ground? He hoped so. 

Blood was everything right now. It grabbed his eye no matter which way he looked, its stench filled the already musky air, and the metallic taste in the back of his throat spoke of more. He felt it slicking his mouth and throat as he coughed and brought up more. He couldn't hear it but he could hear the rasping of his breathing that told that it would not be long. He couldn't stand it.

He closed his eyes and instead of black found himself back at the moment when everything had started to go wrong.

* * *

_The team immediately tensed up. Guns were brought to the ready, and caution was executed as they entered the village. But it was no longer a village. The term 'Ghost Town' sprang unbidden into his mind. And indeed it was. The shops were closed and boarded up. The rickety beams that the houses protruded out onto were cracking and bending and few had already given way causing the houses to tumble down the hill and shatter as if they were made of porcelain. Signs exclaiming the shops wears were creaking and the ones that weren't were hanging at odd angles. A breeze blew through the town rustling everyone's hair and bringing with it not a sound. _

_Glancing around showed his same thoughts projected on the other three faces. 'How could this have happened in a couple of weeks?'_

_Something wasn't right. They had to go back to the gate, get reinforcements and then check this place out. He was about to gesture to his team to move out but a whimper caught his ear and he turned towards where the sound had come from. _

_Tiana came stumbling towards them. There was blood smeared on her hands and across her face. She hobbled a few more steps and collapsed. He moved towards her. Her head jerked up suddenly and her mouth formed inaudible words. Their meaning was all to clear though. _

'_Leave'. _

_Something had gone wrong and the village was destroyed. There was no sign of any survivors except for the dying woman in front of them. Abruptly a shriek like a banshee erupted through the streets and a whirling cloud of luminescent lights came hurtling down the street. They raised their weapons and prepared to fire but before they had a chance to do so it hit Tiana in the chest. It acted as if it were a bullet and there was suddenly a gaping whole and blood splattered everywhere. It hit him and as he stared in shock at the droplets soaking into his clothing the colors changed and morphed into a different picture._

* * *

It all started in that one moment. When the blood hit him everything went wrong. Events started to piece together and then fall apart just as rapidly. There was no time to put them back. It was like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle on a slope. You got most of the pieces in but as it slid different pieces became dislodged and you had to start again. But he didn't want to start again. 

How could he go on after witnessing all of those horrors? If they were rescued (_hah,_ if he was rescued, he could easily die anyways. And if, although there was the tiniest possibility that it would happen, he did survive he would hardly be sane. He wasn't sane now for heaven's sake. His dreams would be plagued with dreams of friends, blood, blame, failure, and more blood. Kate wouldn't be able to help him. No you could. They would send him back to earth to lock him in a padded white cell and leave him to rock on his own thinking of the past and unawares of the present. He wouldn't let them do that. Oh no. He would die here together with his friends. He wouldn't let them take the luxury of death away from him. It was his!

He looked at his teammates and realized he wasn't lying on the floor anymore. He was leaning up again the wall and rocking back and forth. They moved with his vision swaying back and forth in front of him. He didn't care that it was painful to do so. He liked the pain. The pain was good. They had gone through pain before they died. All be it briefly as they had had the gift of death. He wanted that gift too. He wanted to untie the bow, pull back the wrapping paper and see his life flicker out. He deserved it!

* * *

_They should have left then. Taken Tiana's warning and gone back to Atlantis and forgotten about Anozira. But they didn't. He couldn't explain why but there was a pull. A mental pull dragging him kicking and screaming towards the town hall at the end of the street. It was falling apart as well, its paint chipping and the wood rotting. The bell on top of the tower moved in a breeze but made no sound. It seemed to be illuminated by a white light from below. Another warning sign ignored. _

_The whole team walked trance like towards the door .He pushed it upon without hesitation. They were nearly blinded by the light that irrupted forth. They stepped as one into the hall. Someone screamed and fell instantly. He didn't see who it was. He didn't care. He had to keep going towards the light in the middle. The burning one. A light came rushing towards him but a rumble resonated throughout the hall._

"_The leader is mine!"_

_Two more sprays of blood. Two more lives snuffed out. Two more friends killed. That fact brought him out of his bizarre state. The answer to the question that was in his mind was voiced by the rumble again._

"_We are beings of energy. We feed off lives. The souls of the humans we kill are given to us and we live longer and better lives the more we kill. I am the Master of these soul-feeders and I need the strongest. You are strong willed and your soul will feed my being!"_

* * *

He had fought then. He hadn't wanted to die then. He hadn't known. But if he hadn't fought, so many more would have died. But he would be dead. He would be with his friends. He wouldn't be watching the blood on the ground and thinking of what a pretty color it was.

* * *

_He fought it. He fought the pull to let go and let it take over his mind and soul and let him drop to the ground as a useless husk. He battled with it for control. He held onto himself and it grew angry. A heat built in the room, the light started to burn and the bell finally started to ring, clanging against the walls and the cacophony was deafening. But he grasped onto his consciousness and he didn't let go. _

_The beam of burning energy and spinning lights was redirected. It hit him in the leg instead of the chest. There was still a spray of blood but it wasn't a fatal one. He wasn't dead. The Master had failed. He still had his soul. _

_The noise inside the room grew louder. A thousand screams pierced the air, an anguished rumble from the Master, and the bell continued to ring. Then suddenly it was dark. It was silent. The air that rushed into the room seemed to be filled with sighs this time. No more screams. A young child's voice whispered, "Thank-you" and everything went black._

_When he awoke there was blood. So much blood._ _How could one human body hold that much blood? But no. It wasn't one human body. It was three._

* * *

His vision returned to normal again. There was noise in the background. Shouts, calls, the distinct sound of someone retching. Had they finally come? Had the reinforcements they should have gone back for in the first place arrived? He would never find out. He closed his eyes and let out a breath of ragged air and finally the package fell open. Lt. Colonel John Sheppard joined Dr. Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagen, and Ronon Dex in the next world. 

The blood red ribbon had finally been undone.

**And there it is. Please review. Also if you would like I have a small epilogue in mind. Only about 200 words or less. Let me know? **


	2. Epilogue

**Yeah, well you know that 200 hundred word epilogue I was thinking of writing? It kind of turned into 1200. Oops. Oh well. Thanks to lakewater, aweena, gabumon, Jellybean16, and a rather strange person called Serraphym for reviewing. If more of you would like to review I would like that very much. Oh and I don't have a Beta. So all mistakes, of which there are hopefully few, are the spellchecker's fault! Mua-ha-ha! **

"Bring them home," Weir stated before Major Lorne and his team stepped through the gate. Sheppard's team was not even over due yet. In fact they had only been gone about half an hour. So that wasn't the reason that Lorne's team had been assembled and through the gate in record time. What had caused that was the transmission Atlantis received from the planet the team was visiting 15 minutes ago. A transmission that would haunt the personnel in the gate room for a very, very long time.

The gate had dialed. It was the allied planet but there was no IDC. Instead only a radio transmission came through. Weir had ordered the technician to put it on a channel. What came next chilled the staff there. A child's voice came through. They sounded terrified.

"_Please…lp…. ...ey..co…ing. ..he…ind…me. We…a…gone. …my…too. I wa…ommy. Help. H…me. Pl…."_

Weir had been frozen. Chuck had looked at her to see what to do. Just then the child screamed. There was a brief silence before…static. Lorne had witnessed the whole thing. He looked at Dr. Weir who had gone white. She met his eyes and gave a single nod. Lorne was assembling a team within seconds. Damn it, there wasn't any place to land a jumper! They had to walk. Waste of time. Damn! 15 minutes later Lorne stepped though the gate with his team.

* * *

When they emerged on the other side they were greeted by silence. No birds, no greetings, no wind. He scanned the area visually while one of the other marines checked a LSD. They shook their head. Lorne swallowed. He hoped this wasn't going to turn in to a recovery mission.

"Sir, maybe they are at the far end of the town. It doesn't show up on the LSD from this distance." Sergeant Hills piped up.

"Let's hope so sergeant, let's hope so." Lorne replied quietly.

"Colonel Sheppard come in. This is Major Lorne, do you read?" Lorne asked over the radio. There was nothing. "Dr. McKay? Ronon? Teyla? Come in." Still nothing.

They began to move forward. Right behind the DHD was a body. A small body. Lying in red stained grass. Lorne turned it over. Wide empty eyes stared up at him. The child who had dialed no doubt. Lorne looked back up and noticed some of his men looked rather uneasy. He sighed.

"Move out. Let's find them." He said.

As they made their way up the hill it remained quiet. About halfway up there was a blinding flash of white light but another check of the LSD showed no energy signatures. At the top there was another body. Lorne let one of the other marines examine it this time. He kept an eye on the road ahead. The village seemed deserted, ghost-like.

"It's one of the village elders," the kneeling marine supplied.

"Tiana," another stated. He had visited this planet before.

"Can you tell how she died?" Lorne asked, not turning round.

"It's not hard sir. She seems to have been shot by something. Something big."

Lorne finally turned back around. There was dried blood all over the place. Where it hadn't seeped into the ground that is. Some of the younger marines had paled slightly but other then their coloring they gave nothing away about how disturbed they were by the situation.

They moved on into the village. Lorne ordered them to fan out. A few went to each door, Lorne moving up to the top of the street. Doors were kicked down and rooms searched. In the house Lorne entered there was only darkness. He switched the light on his P90 on. He and the other two marines with him walked swiftly down the hallway to the main room. It was an art gallery. The two marines climbed the stairs on either side of the room to an upper loft. Lorne moved forwards to find two more corpses. They had the same injuries as Tiana and the child. He avoided the pool of blood on the floor as he made his way back to the main hallway. The other two joined him.

"Only another body sir," one said.

Lorne sighed again. This was looking more and more like a recovery mission with each passing moment. He stepped outside. P90 beams flashed across the ground from where they had been needed. Soldiers yelled their finds of more bodies to each other. Someone retched. Captain Taylor approached him.

"We have found nothing but unidentified bodies so far sir."

"Keep looking Captain," Lorne gestured then moved forward to the town hall at the end of the road. The two marines followed. He kicked open the door and was instantly assaulted with the incredibly strong stench of blood. His head swam slightly. He stepped in anyways. He had to check.

His boot nudged something. He looked down and nearly gagged. One of the marines behind him exited and did so. His stomach twisted into a knot. "Oh God" he whispered. Teyla's body lay on the floor. Her eyes were wide and empty like all the other lifeless corpses they had already found. She had the same injuries again. Her chest appeared to have been blown apart.

"Lieutenant," Lorne said to the remaining marine behind him.

"Yes sir?" he replied hoarsely.

"Call the others; we're going to need the stretchers." Lorne responded, his voice cracking slightly. His gaze moved from the body of the athosian to two other bodies. Again similarly killed McKay and Ronon were also on the floor not too far away. But the fourth body. Where was it? Sheppard wasn't with the others. He squinted. Was that? Yes.

He progressed towards the far corner. His CO was slumped against the wall. But he didn't have a gaping hole in his chest. Yet there was still a pool of blood on the wood floor surrounding him. Then where? Lorne only took a few seconds to see it. His right leg was practically non-existent. The way he was positioned hid the missing limb. Lorne felt for a pulse, not really expecting one. He wasn't surprised. But he did find the skin still warm. Sheppard hadn't been dead long. Perhaps only a minute. To think if they had gotten here a few seconds earlier they might have been able to save at least one life.

But no. There was too much blood loss. The colonel wouldn't have survived anyways. Maybe that was a good thing. There would have been some hellish psychological repercussions. Lorne made his way back outside closing each of the team member's eyes as he went. The stretchers and body bags were just arriving.

"They are all in there." Lorne said cheerlessly. Despite that he had told himself that Colonel Sheppard would've died anyways he knew he was going to have one hell of a time convincing himself otherwise.

The marines re-emerged, now burdened with 4 stretchers, 4 bodies, 4 important lost lives.

The trip to the gate was as silent as it had been going up. Half an hour later they arrived at the gate. Lorne waited as Captain Taylor dialed. As each symbol was pressed Lorne's heart fell a little lower. This wasn't going to be pleasant. He waited until every last person, dead or alive, passed through the wormhole. As the last stretcher made its way through he stepped in behind. He glanced briefly back at Anozira briefly before stepping through. His last vision of the once beautiful planet was a single blood-red cardinal sweeping over the grass, breaking the silence with its lamentations that would fall only on deaf ears.

**And I think that is it. Cookies for anyone who can figure out the secret behind the planet name! Thanks. **


End file.
